


Before the Big Event

by zarabithia



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Prequel Trilogy, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Caring for pregnant partner, Customs and Cultures Related to Pregancy/Childbirth, Enduring Rape and Noncon Breeding to Protect Others, Mpreg, Multi, Pregnancy, Pregnant In Times of War/Conflict/Danger, Unplanned Pregnancy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-22
Updated: 2019-04-22
Packaged: 2020-01-12 18:34:13
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,690
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18452264
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/zarabithia/pseuds/zarabithia
Summary: "The other one is a soldier," Obi-Wan acknowledged. "But I am his commander. Which one of us would be a greater prize?"The look of approval tells Obi-Wan that the decision is made, even before he is pulled from his cell by hard, unyielding hands.Obi-Wan will be the prize; Satine and Cody will be spared.





	Before the Big Event

**Author's Note:**

  * For [RaineyDay](https://archiveofourown.org/users/RaineyDay/gifts).



There isn't, in the end, much choice in the matter - at least, not as far as Obi-Wan can see. 

"Your people value a soldier for the .... ritual," he says, standing in a fashion that his former Padawan would have called stubborn, had he been here. Obi-Wan is more relieved than a Jedi should be to know that Anakin is _not_ here. "Duchess Satine is not one. That much should be obvious to anyone in the galaxy with even a passing familiarity with galactic politics."

"We know about Mandalore and its _pathetic_ fall from warrior grace," the general sneers. 

Behind him, Satine protests; her anger is for what Obi-Wan is volunteering for, not for the slight against her people. Obi-Wan calls upon all of his training to block her out; he cannot remain calm the way he must in order to do what he must if he is distracted. 

He blocks out Cody's protest, too. It's louder, louder than Obi-Wan ever recalls it being before. 

"The other one is a soldier," Obi-Wan acknowledged. "But I am his commander. Which one of us would be a greater prize?" 

The look of approval tells Obi-Wan that the decision is made, even before he is pulled from his cell by hard, unyielding hands. 

Obi-Wan will be the prize; Satine and Cody will be spared.

* * *

Anakin arrives as he always does, full of confidence and a certainty that Obi-Wan used to have concern about; these days, Obi-Wan is more than willing to concede that Anakin has earned the right to feel that way. 

But the assured smirk falls away the second he steps into Obi-Wan's cell. The light saber swings to Anakin's side with a fury, still ready to extract justice upon the person responsible for the state of Obi-Wan's current condition. 

The frown on Anakin's face only deepens as he steps forwards and removes the collar that has cut Obi-Wan off from the Force. The minute that it falls to the floor, Obi-Wan feels the Force come rushing back to greet him, like an old friend. In the rush of having his connection restored, he almost believes he can feel Master Qui-Gon... but there is sadness there, and Qui-Gon was the quintessential Jedi. He would never have been so emotional; that had always been Obi-Wan's flaw, and later, Anakin's. 

"Anakin," he says gently, "My cloak seems to have gone missing." In truth, the general has taken the cloak, and the clothing that had been worn beneath it. It hasn't been needed, the genreal has assured him. 

Anakin's anger is positively suffocating ... but may the Force forgive him, Obi-Wan takes great comfort in it. 

Anakin wraps his own cloak around Obi-Wan, and Obi-Wan takes comfort in that, too. 

"Cody and Satine," Obi-Wan says. "We have to - " 

"Ahsoka and Rex have already freed them," Anakin reports. "Can you walk?" 

"Of course I can," Obi-Wan says, and Anakin is uncharacteristically quiet when reality proves that spending two months on his knees has, in fact, made walking a difficult proposition. 

Anakin remains uncharacteristically quiet as they make their way back to the ship. But the anger is still there; Obi-Wan should probably remind him where anger will lead. 

But that is Yoda's speech, and Yoda can give it once they get back to the Temple.

* * *

Ahsoka hugs him, immediately. The war has begun to give her sharper edges than the young Padawan that came to them, but she is still young enough to abandon protocol. 

Her eyes are round with surprise when she pulls away from the hug. No doubt she has sensed the true consequence of their mission. He wishes, in a way that lingers on regret far too long to be proper for a Jedi, that she had not had the life experiences that allow her to put together the pieces so well. 

But they are at war. 

"I'm sorry we were so late," she says. "I'm going to ... go help Anakin." 

"Yes, he's better with a co-pilot," Obi-Wan agrees. 

The smile she gives him is quiet in the Force, but Obi-Wan takes as much comfort from it as he does from Anakin's anger. 

Obi-Wan sits across from Satine and next to Cody. 

"Are you alright?" Satine asks immediately. "We were so worried, and you - "

"You and I survived much worse, many years ago," he says dismissively. "At least the general had no intention of starving us or otherwise killing us." 

"I would rather have starved than to see you ... suffer that way," Satine says quietly. 

"It shouldn't have been you, Sir," Cody says stiffly. 

"It shouldn't have been anyone," Obi-Wan corrects them. "And I would never have allowed it to be either of you."

Satine's hand touches his first, though it is soon followed by a shoulder squeeze from Cody. He is glad neither of them are Force sensitive, because the relief that floods through him is almost overwhelming even for Obi-Wan. 

Two months spent starved from touch except for a demanding general have left him very grateful for the touches of the two people who mean so much to him.

* * *

The first attempt to meditate does not come until after a medical exam that has many questions that Obi-Wan does not have an answer for yet. 

He hopes meditating will give him the answers he seeks. 

Perhaps it is the freshness of reconnecting with the Force, but meditating and trying to focus on visions that might guide him only cause him further confusion. The first time he closes his eyes, all he sees is fire. There's fire and lava ... and Anakin. Anakin screaming in pain and begging for forgiveness. 

Obi-Wan opens his eyes with a silent scream on his own lips. 

He sits in the garden, calming himself with every technique that he knows. When Anakin's screams have died down in his head, he tries again. 

This time, he sees three children, dressed in ordinary clothes running in front of the great fountains on Naboo. Anakin and Padme are there, happy and smiling, while they watch the children practice using the Force. There's the calmness Obi-Wan has been seeking, and he focuses on the small red-haired girl that seems to be the focal point of it. 

The scene changes again, and they are on Mandalore. The six of them, along with Cody and Satine.

It's so calm and peaceful. 

But what has happened to the war?

* * *

"What are you going to do?" Anakin asks bluntly, and of all the people that have wanted to know, Anakin is the first to press the issue. 

They sit in Anakin's quarters, because had Obi-Wan waited on Anakin to visit him, Obi-Wan suspects that he would have waited a while for Anakin to keep brooding about mistakes that are not his fault. 

"I don't know," Obi-Wan says truthfully. 

"How do you not know?" Anakin asks, and there is true bewilderment on his face. 

Obi-Wan tries to understand it, but although they often feel like equal halves of a whole, every now and then, there's a distance between them that Obi-Wan does not understand. 

"I simply mean that I don't know ... which course of action will be best," Obi-Wan says. "For the galaxy. For the child." 

"Won't you simply give it away to the Temple?" Anakin asks. "Isn't that the Jedi way? Jedi don't have _families._ "

"The Jedi make families," Obi-Wan corrects. "The Jedi are a family, Anakin." 

"Families become attached," Anakin argues. "I remember that. More than you know." 

Obi-Wan remembers Qui-Gon, and he thinks of that little red-haired girl. 

"Yes," he says simply.

* * *

The next time Obi-Wan meditates, Obi-Wan stands in the temple, surrounded by fallen Jedi. 

_No_ he wills into the Force. _No. This cannot be what is meant for us._

Years of fighting a war, only for there to be no Jedi left? Then what has been the point?

_How can I stop it?_

"Perhaps," a voice that sounds far too much like Qui-Gon whispers back to him, "you can only achieve a different ending once you stop doing the same actions that are making you unhappy."

* * *

"Tell me again," Satine says as she sips her tea, "About the vision where we were on Mandalore." 

Cody shakes his head and moves his game piece while Obi-Wan tells the story again. He leaves out Padme and Anakin's children, of course. An open secret it might be, but a secret it still is. 

"We were there, and the child was happy," Obi-Wan tells her. "When we were not on Naboo, visiting Senator Amidala." 

Cody and Satine laugh, with different levels of subtlety. 

"A child," Cody says once the laughter has quieted down. "Would any of us know what to do with one? Even if we weren't in a war?" 

"I'll have you know," Satine tells him, "That on Mandalore, we have many pregnancy customs. I'm sure you'd _love_ the one where you are supposed to engage in battle to induce the child's delivery." 

"Sounds appropriate," Cody comments. "And it definitely sounds like something you'd do." 

"There wasn't any fighting ... except the children. You will be able to handle children play-fighting won't you, dear?" Obi-Wan asks Satine. He doesn't argue with Cody, because there is a time and a place for bending the truth. 

"Never doubt it," she says. "From either of us."

* * *

The next time Obi-Wan meditates, he is sitting in front of a bowl of something brown and squishy that Yoda promises is supposed to help with the growing and almost constant urge to vomit. 

It looks horrible. But apparently, Yoda's people swear by it. 

Obi-Wan tries to ignore his stomach and the murky bowl in front of him as he closes his eyes in the privacy of the garden that would have been full in days past. 

His next vision is Ahsoka, older than he has ever seen her, sitting with at a table with a much older version of Depa's Padawan, a Twi'lek Obi-Wan does not recognize, and three young adults. The red-haired woman dressed in flowing purple robes he knows instantly, and the man she is arm-wrestling has Padme's sweet smile. The grin on the remaining young woman is pure Anakin. 

Obi-Wan opens his eyes, and makes a choice.

* * *

"It won't feel like the war without you," Anakin says. 

They sit together in the garden, because Obi-Wan has requested it. 

"When I became a Jedi, I believed in trusting in the Force," Obi-Wan tells him. "Many times during the war, I have been uncertain what that should entail. This time, I am certain." 

"Are you going to leave the council?" Anakin asks. 

He does not fidget the way he used to, as a Padawan. He has grown so much.

"I intend to leave the Order," Obi-Wan answers simply.

The Force swirls with confusion. "But being a Jedi is the most important thing in the galaxy to you," Anakin protests. "I never thought... I never thought you'd leave the Order. I never thought you'd even understand someone leaving the Order." 

"Being a Jedi is important. The teachings of the Jedi are important, and I believe in them. But ... other things matter to me as well, Anakin. This is not the first time I contemplated leaving the Order. Why would you think I couldn't understand those feelings?" 

"Chancellor Palpatine...." Anakin trails off, and the confusion in the room deepens. "He says there's only so much you can understand, because being a Jedi is the most important." 

Obi-Wan has known anger before, but the sudden burst of it within himself confuses him. He should not be as furious at the Chancellor as he is. But then, the Chancellor should mind his own business.

"Chancellor Palpatine is wrong about that," Obi-Wan says. "It does not surprise me that he does not know me well, but I would hope that you would know better." 

Anakin looks remorseful, which is almost enough to make Obi-Wan stop being furious at Palpatine.

* * *

"I wish I could go with you," Cody comments quietly as Obi-Wan finishes packing. 

"The war isn't over yet," Obi-Wan answers patiently. 

He takes a seat, because the sickness has not quite passed yet. 

"Sometimes it feels like it will never end," Cody grumbles. 

"I think it might soon, and I think that you would never forgive yourself if you weren't on the front lines to see the final days," Obi-Wan says. 

"That's true," Cody agrees. "And Master Vos does need a bit of a keeper." 

Obi-Wan laughs. "If you figure out how to achieve that, Cody, you are even more talented than I already believed you to be."

* * *

"Naboo?" Anakin asks in surprise. "I'd thought you'd be going to Mandalore." 

"Mm. So did I. But I believe in listening to the Force, even and perhaps especially on the days when it sounds so loudly like Qui-Gon." 

"The Force is telling you to go to Naboo?" 

"Mm. Come, Anakin, sit with me and meditate one last time." 

"The Duchess is waiting on you," Anakin protests. "And you know how I hate - "

"To focus? Yes. But come and sit with me, anyway. Satine will wait a bit longer. Humor your old master one last time, please?" 

And so Anakin sits with him, and together, they wait for the visions to come. 

"How long have you known?" Anakin asks quietly.

"About you and Senator Amidala? How could I not have known?" Obi-Wan asks. 

"I thought ... the Chancellor... I thought you'd tell the Council," Anakin says.

"Well. I was on the Council. So from a certain point of view, the Council already knew," Obi-Wan points out. 

Anakin makes a sound somewhere between a snort and a laugh. "Somehow I don't think Master Windu would agree with your point of view." 

"Perhaps not. But I love you, Anakin. I would never have reported you to the Council." 

There is surprise on Anakin's face, and so Obi-Wan makes sure to hug longer than he had planned. 

"I don't know how I feel about my kid being beat by yours," Anakin murmurs into Obi-Wan's cloak. 

"She had the high ground," Obi-Wan answers. "May the Force be with you, Anakin."

"May the Force be with you, Master."

* * *

"Certain you are, Obi-Wan?" Yoda asks. "Want this path, do you?" 

Obi-Wan stands on the platform, ready to leave. He takes a long look at the temple he grew up in, before turning his attention back to Yoda. "I am certain, Master Yoda." 

"Disagree with you, many do." 

"But we must all follow the Force to our best abilities. We cannot allow others to make our decisions for us," Obi-Wan answers. "I learned those lessons here, Master Yoda, and I must remain true to them." 

"Stubborn, you are," Yoda says. "Whole lineage, stubborn. Where they got it from, I know not." 

Obi-Wan takes the bowl of soup that Yoda offers him, and says, "No worries, Master Yoda. You'll still have Ahsoka to carry on your legacy." 

"And young Skywalker?" 

It is a question, and one Obi-Wan believes should be answered with a no. He does not believe Anakin will remain with the Order - especially not once those children that have haunted Obi-Wan's visions appear. 

But that is not his story to tell. 

"Ah, yes. Young Skywalker. You know, I didn't know how I was going to keep the promise I made to Qui-Gon. I was too young and inexperienced, and I feared that Anakin's training would suffer because of it. Yet, Anakin has become the best star pilot in the galaxy, a cunning warrior and truly reliable friend. He is also a far better Jedi than I could ever be." 

Yoda looks up at him for a long time, before nodding his head. "Yes. Correct, Qui-Gon was. Now go, before late you are." 

"May the Force be with you, Master Yoda." 

"May the Force stay with you, Obi-Wan." 

For its part, the Force is clear and calm as Obi-Wan walks towards Satine, takes her hand, and boards the ship towards Naboo.

* * *

"Ready, darling?" Satine asks. 

"We both are," Obi-Wan assures her. 

"Then here's to the next great adventure," Satine says. "Speaking of, have you considered names?" 

"Not yet." 

They have some time yet, after all, before the big event.


End file.
